Alessandro's POV:
The small, silver locket was cool and smooth against my palm. I opened it, the delicate hinges creaking softly, and gazed at the two tiny photographs nestled inside. One, a grainy sonogram image of our unborn child, a tiny flicker of life, a future I was determined to protect no matter the cost; the other, a picture of Illyana and me taken on our honeymoon, arms wrapped around each other, lost in the joy of just being us.
I’m coming for you, cara, I vowed silently, my thumb gently tracing the outline of her face in the photograph, my heart aching with my love for her. I snapped the locket shut, the sound a sharp click in the quiet of my office, and slid it into my breast pocket, close to my heart, a talisman, a reminder of everything I was fighting for.
As I left my o
